Can a 6 year old be taught Latin successfully?!

[CarrieF]

My ds who is 6 1/2 has asked, well rather demanded, that we begin learning Latin. I'm totally okay with his request and enthusiasm, but have no experience with or workable knowledge of Latin curricula that might be appropriate for a child this age. Do any of you have (positive!) experience with a Latin program that would work with a 6 1/2 year old? This is an extremely verbal, intelligent, and motivated young man, so I think he could handle the content, I'm merely looking for suggestions on curricula that would be age-appropriate.
Thank you!

[frogpond1]

but Classical Academic Press now has SongSchool Latin. I say go for it. My kids loved learning Latin at that age even though it will be many years before she understands and can use the grammar.

[KAR120C]

;)

Okay seriously if he's interested then why not? Worst case is it doesn't work out and you drop it -- no harm in that.

I guess DS was actually 8 before he started, and he did Minimus with our co-op for a year. We've moved on to Lingua Latina and it's working out rather well (much heavier workload!) and those are the only two I know anything about. I like both of them, but for very different reasons... and depending on the kid you could probably use either one, but Lingua Latina is veryveryvery dense, so you'd need enthusiasm and a sense of humor about it, AND a flexible schedule. It could go very slowly.

[chai]

We used Prima Latina when dd was 5-6. It goes pretty slowly, so a younger student can keep up. We did the workbook orally. In this program its really just memorization, in which kids at this age can excel.

You might want to look at Minimus and Lively Latin as well. They are both aimed at younger students.

[Kalah]

At that age we did Minimus and Minimus Secundus. It was fun and cartoonish. I think it was a great intro to latin and got him to look at latin as being fun. We are on Latin for Children B this year and looking forward to it. Latin is one of Huck's favorite subject.
HTH

[beansprouts]

Yep! Go for it :001_smile:

[JenParrish]

but Classical Academic Press now has SongSchool Latin. I say go for it. My kids loved learning Latin at that age even though it will be many years before she understands and can use the grammar.

Yes, this is new with Classical Academic Press and looks pretty good. I have purchased and plan on using it with my 7 year son and almost 5 year old daughter.

[WendyK]

I'm doing Latin's Not So Tough level 2 with my 6.5 year old right now. He loves it. He asks to do it. He is a very strange child (just kidding).

If you start and find it doesn't work out, you can always start it up again at a later time.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Dd started dabbling in Minimus at age 5. At age 3, she had a coloring books with a CD someone gave her with Latin words in it (Powerglide? I think). She is doing Lively Latin now at 7, and it is easy for her.

I say go for it!

[CarrieF]

Thank you all for the encouragement and great ideas! I had looked at SongSchool Latin and Latin's Not So Tough previously, so it is nice to get some feedback on those.
Keep up the good work!
:thumbup:

[nmoira]

Yes. My oldest will be finished Lively Latin 2 not long after her 7th birthday. She did Minimus at 5; however, she was reading very well at that age.

[CleoQc]

DS did Prima Latina in 2 months when he was 6yo. At that point it even helped with vocabulary. If we had waited till he's 8, the vocabulary would have been learned already, making Prima Latina less interesting.

The rule of thumb that I come across most of the time is the following: you can start on Latin if your child is a good enough reader in his native tongue. Just to avoid confusing him with phonics.

[K&Rs Mom]

The rule of thumb that I come across most of the time is the following: you can start on Latin if your child is a good enough reader in his native tongue. Just to avoid confusing him with phonics.

:iagree: We started Prima Latina last winter with my then-5yo and barely-3yo. The 3yo was just tagging along for school because she couldn't stand to be left out, but she memorized the Latin vowel sounds by flashcard, and it has interfered a little with her learning the English vowel sounds - she knows them, but not consistently, sometimes the Latin sound will come in. my now-6yo doesn't love Latin (yet? I hope) but is definitely retaining it and it is helping her English through the derivatives.

[allearia]

I sure hope so! We are about to start Lively Latin with my 6.5 yo who reads at at least a sixth grade level. He is excited, and very language oriented and I think it will be great for him. Didn't I read in Climbing Parnassus that they used to start before age 7?

[arcara]

I'm doing Prima Latin with my 5.5y-o dd. She's doing very well and is enjoying it! She does the written work, too.

[Mary in Florida]

Carrie,

I'm late to chime in on answering your question but wanted to share our experience.

Both of my children were very early readers. Because of that we also began Latin very early. My dd was 7 and my ds was 5. For years they did Latin at the same time and at the same pace using a variety of resources. We did end up using Latina Christiana I and II at the end. My son repeated LCII to ensure he knew the material before moving on. My dd was able to go from LCII to an online Wheelock's class at age 13. She just turned 14 (grade 8) and she is taking level 2 of the Wheelock's and will get high school credit.

While my dd was taking level 1 my son and I worked our way through LCII again. This year he is 12 (grade 5) and together we are working our way through Wheelock's. We just finished chapter 4. He can do the work but it's nice to be able to go at his pace.

It has been to our advantage to begin Latin so early and to slowly and methodically progress at their own pace. Now it is a given that we will do Latin every day. It is a non-negotiable in our studies and they both still enjoy their classes.

I suppose because we don't know any differently it seems their test scores reflect their very strong abilities in reading, grammar, spelling, comprehension and vocabulary. I'm quite sure it is a benefit of their studying Latin. We read a great deal and always past their grade level. It's just normal for us at this point.

I would never hesitate to begin a child in Latin at a young age. We also never had a problem with switching from English to Latin.

Hope this helps.

[Mommy22alyns]

I'm doing Song School Latin with Becca and she's doing great so far! Sylvia even tags along and asks to hear the "magista songs." :001_smile: They love Latin.

[dangermom]

I'm late too, but we started Prima Latina when my older daughter was 5 1/2, once she could read pretty well. We really enjoyed it a lot; it was an experiment* but it hooked me on Latin. She is now 8 and we are slowly going through LCII, Lingua Angelica, and the occasional fun day in Lingua Latina. Latin is one of her favorite subjects.

My younger daughter is getting to the point now that I'll want to start PL with her pretty soon, too. Maybe in the new year. She's picked up quite a bit in the way of chants and songs already.




*I was dubious about the whole 'Latin is so valuable' thing, being a product of the modern American ps system--I'd never given a thought to Latin before. I figured PL would be a cheap way to experiment with the idea.

[greta_elisif]

My daughter is 4 and we happen to have Getting Started with Latin: Beginning Latin for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Students of Any Age (http://www.gettingstartedwithlatin.com/). I say this is probably unusual, because she begs for a Latin lesson every night, but the book is as plain as can be, with somewhat small print, no pictures, and no colors. The lessons are very simple though, with one new word, or sometimes concept (like subjects or verbs) in each lesson, and normally 10 simple sentences to translate, 5 using the new word and 5 review. Since she can’t write more than a little, we just do the lessons orally. She hasn’t translated English-to-Latin yet, but, so far, we’ve successfully made it through two plural-direct-object-word lessons! So, those other books like Minimus are probably a lot more fun and interesting for kids, but GSL is easy enough for kids, and anybody can use it, so we like it. The website has pronuciation stuff, too.

[Jen in PA]

My dd is 6, and is LOVING Minimus. I cannot overstate how much she is enjoying Latin. She asks to do it first, studies her vocabulary in her spare time, and uses Latin words for fun. Really. She is a very visual learner, and Minimus is a good fit for her.

[EKS]

I'm sure you could teach a 6yo Latin.

My 7yo is learning Latin. We're using Lively Latin, which has been wonderful. Last year he did GWG 3 which was a good grammar base for the Latin he's learning now.

ETA: I just realized that this thread is extremely old. It seems like lots of old threads are being resurrected these days.

[Harmony]

I am doing Latin (Prima Latina with Memoria Press) with my DD6. She loves it.
I have never studied Latin either.

We all enjoy it and kids love memorizing Latin words. I think you can have so much fun with it.
They just love the sounds of Latin!

Best Wishes!
Harmony

[elise1mds]

I'm doing Song School Latin with Becca and she's doing great so far! Sylvia even tags along and asks to hear the "magista songs." :001_smile: They love Latin.

Yup, that's what we have here, too! My daughter loves the songs as much as my son, if not more.

[TracyR]

Yes, you can teach a 6yr old successfully. My third daughter is 6 and is using Song School Latin. Actually we began it last year very relaxed like and just had her learn the songs that went with it. This year she is doing the written work in the workbook. Song School is a cute program and they really pick up quite a bit from it. Even my three year old will sing the songs out of the blue. LOL.
My older two are doing LC 1. They used PL last year and my third daughter listened in from time to time.
This year in LC 1 my older two had to translate Meum praenomen est( my name is) and my 6yr old to the tunen of Skip to the Lou my Darling said " Meum praenomen est,, my name is.... , It means My name is! " before her two big sisters knew what it was.
So yes, its possible. LOL.
I HIGHLY recommend Song School Latin by Classical Academic Press for the PreK-3rd grade crowd.

[greta_elisif]

I’d been starting to worry about what book to use next for Latin when we finish Getting Started with Latin, which will be coming up in a few months. I didn’t want my daughter to have to stop lessons, just because we couldn’t find a book a little harder than that but not complex, and which didn’t require writing. She can write a little, but not enough to do written exercises.

After some searching for a few days, I believe I have found exactly what I needed, and thought some others may be interested in it. The book is called A Latin Primer (http://books.google.com/books?id=4YoXAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=&f=false), from 1911, by Herbert Chester Nutting. It states in the preface,

From some points of view it is a misfortune that in American schools the study of Latin is usually undertaken so late that every detail of the work of the first terms must be planned with a view to reaching Caesar in a year. Encouraging signs, however, are appearing here and there, and in two or three states a movement is already on foot to carry the beginning of Latin back into the upper grades of the grammar school.

For the prosecution of this work in the grades there seems to be an almost total lack of satisfactory manuals, and it thus happened that some time ago, wishing to take up the study of Latin with one of my own children, I was led to work out for myself a plan of instruction suited to the years of my pupil. Out of that experience the present volume has grown.

This purpose is similar to that of GSL. This primer has a faster pace, but only moderately so; it is also methodical. It is also illustrated with classical drawings that should draw the student into the milieu of Rome, without being distracting. Thus, I believe it is suitable for even very young students if they are strong readers and have completed something such as GSL.

At the link above you can download it for free (always a perfect price for me :001_smile:) and you can get a paperback hard copy here (http://kirtasbooks.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=519394&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=81) for only $10: still a deal. I hope this will be helpful to someone. :D

[Seeker]

My daughter started Latin's Not So Tough at that age and we are still using it.

[spiderwoman]

Use the book English From the Roots. There might be 2 volumes, I can't remember. I found pictures and showed them with the roots in the book because little kids can't do all the writing that the book asks. But the book is excellent for its list of roots and explanations. And there is no reason why you can't read it to your child. They can act the words out or do little crosswords or sometimes I let my child illustrate the word.
Good luck!

[gandpsmommy]

My dd used Lively Latin when she had just turned seven. It worked very well for us. She understood everything and seemed to enjoy it.

[homeschoolally]

My DS was able to memorize the declensions at that age and his younger brother can sing them alongside him--at only 2 years old. Of course the 2 y/o had no clue what it was but he could sing the song at the top of his lungs!

I'd use the opportunity to memorize as much as he can using songs and chants at that age. Classical Conversations has a few things to offer--and I'm sure there are more out there that others could recommend. If you get that 'grammar' plugged in with songs and chants now, picking up the 'textbook' style learning later on will come easily.

Also, I have some hs friends whose kids were successful starting with Prima Latina in about 2nd grade. I'm not familiar with it myself, but that family was very 'typical'--as in --not working way above grade level in any other subjects, and seemed to do well with it.

I say go for it!

[radiobrain]

I know that the Lukeion people think that Latin shouldn't be taught until 10-12....

However, I think that if a kid is ready and WANTS it, then you go for it.

[radiobrain]

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